’Iamonlypartlyinman’sclothes，’shefaltered，shrinkingbacktothewall。’ItisonlyhisgreatcoatandhatandbreechesthatI’vegoton，whichisnoharm，ashewasmyownhusband；andIdoitonlybecauseacloakblowsaboutso，andyoucan’tuseyourarms。Ihavegotmyowndressunderjustthesame——itisonlytuckedin！Willyougoawayupstairsandletmepass？Ididn’twantyoutoseemeatsuchatimeasthis！’
　　’ButIhavearighttoseeyou！Howdoyouthinktherecanbeanythingbetweenusnow？’Lizzywassilent。’Youareasmuggler，’
　　hecontinuedsadly。
　　’Ihaveonlyashareintherun，’shesaid。
　　’Thatmakesnodifference。Whateverdidyouengageinsuchatradeasthatfor，andkeepitsuchasecretfrommeallthistime？’
　　’Idon’tdoitalways。Ionlydoitinwinter-timewhen’tisnewmoon。’
　　’Well，Isupposethat’sbecauseitcan’tbedoneanywhenelse……
　　Youhaveregularlyupsetme，Lizzy。’
　　’Iamsorryforthat，’Lizzymeeklyreplied。
　　’Wellnow，’saidhemoretenderly，’noharmisdoneasyet。Won’tyouforthesakeofmegiveupthisblamableanddangerouspracticealtogether？’
　　’Imustdomybesttosavethisrun，’saidshe，gettingratherhuskyinthethroat。’Idon’twanttogiveyouup——youknowthat；butI
　　don’twanttolosemyventure。Idon’tknowwhattodonow！WhyI
　　havekeptitsosecretfromyouisthatIwasafraidyouwouldbeangryifyouknew。’
　　’Ishouldthinkso！IsupposeifIhadmarriedyouwithoutfindingthisoutyou’dhavegoneonwithitjustthesame？’
　　’Idon’tknow。Ididnotthinksofarahead。Ionlywentto-nighttoburnthefolksoff，becausewefoundthattheexcisemenknewwherethetubsweretobelanded。’
　　’Itisaprettymesstobeinaltogether，isthis，’saidthedistractedyoungminister。’Well，whatwillyoudonow？’
　　Lizzyslowlymurmuredtheparticularsoftheirplan，thechiefofwhichwerethattheymeanttotrytheirluckatsomeotherpointoftheshorethenextnight；thatthreelanding-placeswerealwaysagreeduponbeforetherunwasattempted，withtheunderstandingthat，ifthevesselwas’burntoff’fromthefirstpoint，whichwasRingsworth，asithadbeenbyherto-night，thecrewshouldattempttomakethesecond，whichwasLulsteadCove，onthesecondnight；
　　andifthere，too，dangerthreatened，theyshouldonthethirdnighttrythethirdplace，whichwasbehindaheadlandfurtherwest。
　　’Supposetheofficershinderthemlandingtheretoo？’hesaid，hisattentiontothisinterestingprogrammedisplacingforamomenthisconcernathershareinit。
　　’Thenweshan’ttryanywhereelseallthisdark——that’swhatwecallthetimebetweenmoonandmoon——andperhapsthey’llstringthetubstoastray-line，andsink’emalittle-waysfromshore，andtakethebearings；andthenwhentheyhaveachancethey’llgotocreepfor’em。’
　　’What’sthat？’
　　’O，they’llgooutinaboatanddragacreeper——that’sagrapnel——
　　alongthebottomtillitcatchholdofthestray-line。’
　　Theministerstoodthinking；andtherewasnosoundwithindoorsbutthetickoftheclockonthestairs，andthequickbreathingofLizzy，partlyfromherwalkandpartlyfromagitation，asshestoodclosetothewall，notinsuchcompletedarknessbutthathecoulddiscernagainstitswhitewashedsurfacethegreatcoatandbroadhatwhichcoveredher。
　　’Lizzy，allthisisverywrong，’hesaid。’Don’tyourememberthelessonofthetribute-money？“RenderuntoCaesarthethingsthatareCaesar’s。“Surelyyouhaveheardthatreadtimesenoughinyourgrowingup？’
　　’He’sdead，’shepouted。
　　’Butthespiritofthetextisinforcejustthesame。’
　　’Myfatherdidit，andsodidmygrandfather，andalmosteverybodyinNether-Moyntonlivesbyit，andlifewouldbesodullifitwasn’tforthat，thatIshouldnotcaretoliveatall。’
　　’Iamnothingtolivefor，ofcourse，’herepliedbitterly。’Youwouldnotthinkitworthwhiletogiveupthiswildbusinessandliveformealone？’
　　’Ihaveneverlookedatitlikethat。’
　　’Andyouwon’tpromiseandwaittillIamready？’
　　’Icannotgiveyoumywordto-night。’And，lookingthoughtfullydown，shegraduallymovedandmovedaway，goingintotheadjoiningroom，andclosingthedoorbetweenthem。Sheremainedthereinthedarktillhewastiredofwaiting，andhadgoneuptohisownchamber。
　　PoorStockdalewasdreadfullydepressedallthenextdaybythediscoveriesofthenightbefore。Lizzywasunmistakablyafascinatingyoungwoman，butasaminister’swifeshewashardlytobecontemplated。’IfIhadonlystucktofather’slittlegrocerybusiness，insteadofgoinginfortheministry，shewouldhavesuitedmebeautifully！’hesaidsadly，untilherememberedthatinthatcasehewouldneverhavecomefromhisdistanthometoNether-
　　Moynton，andneverhaveknownher。
　　Theestrangementbetweenthemwasnotcomplete，butitwassufficienttokeepthemoutofeachother’scompany。Onceduringthedayhemetherinthegarden-path，andsaid，turningareproachfuleyeuponher，’Doyoupromise，Lizzy？’Butshedidnotreply。Theeveningdrewon，andheknewwellenoughthatLizzywouldrepeatherexcursionatnight——herhalf-offendedmannerhadshownthatshehadnottheslightestintentionofalteringherplansatpresent。Hedidnotwishtorepeathisownshareoftheadventure；but，actashewould，hisuneasinessonheraccountincreasedwiththedeclineofday。Supposingthatanaccidentshouldbefallher，hewouldneverforgivehimselffornotbeingtheretohelp，muchashedislikedtheideaofseemingtocountenancesuchunlawfulescapades。
　　Ashehadexpected，sheleftthehouseatthesamehouratnight，thistimepassinghisdoorwithoutstealth，asifsheknewverywellthathewouldbewatching，andwereresolvedtobravehisdispleasure。Hewasquiteready，openedthedoorquickly，andreachedthebackdooralmostassoonasshe。
　　’Thenyouwillgo，Lizzy？’hesaidashestoodonthestepbesideher，whonowagainappearedasalittlemanwithafacealtogetherunsuitedtohisclothes。
　　’Imust，’shesaid，repressedbyhissternmanner。
　　’ThenIshallgotoo，’saidhe。
　　’AndIamsureyouwillenjoyit！’sheexclaimedinmorebuoyanttones。’Everybodydoeswhotriesit。’
　　’GodforbidthatIshould！’hesaid。’ButImustlookafteryou。’
　　Theyopenedthewicketandwentuptheroadabreastofeachother，butatsomedistanceapart，scarcelyawordpassingbetweenthem。
　　Theeveningwasratherlessfavourabletosmugglingenterprisethanthelasthadbeen，thewindbeinglower，andtheskysomewhatcleartowardsthenorth。
　　’Itisratherlighter，’saidStockdale。
　　’’Tis，unfortunately，’saidshe。’Butitisonlyfromthosefewstarsoverthere。Themoonwasnewto-dayatfouro’clock，andI
　　expectedclouds。Ihopeweshallbeabletodoitthisdark，forwhenwehavetosink’emforlongitmakesthestufftastebleachy，andfolksdon’tlikeitsowell。’
　　Hercoursewasdifferentfromthatoftheprecedingnight，branchingofftotheleftoverLord’sBarrowassoonastheyhadgotoutofthelaneandcrossedthehighway。BythetimetheyreachedChaldonDown，Stockdale，whohadbeeninperplexedthoughtastowhatheshouldsaytoher，decidedthathewouldnotattemptexpostulationnow，whileshewasexcitedbytheadventure，butwaittillitwasover，andendeavourtokeepherfromsuchpracticesinfuture。Itoccurredtohimonceortwice，astheyrambledon，thatshouldtheybesurprisedbytheexcisemen，hissituationwouldbemoreawkwardthanhers，foritwouldbedifficulttoprovehistruemotiveincomingtothespot；buttheriskwasaslightconsiderationbesidehiswishtobewithher。
　　TheynowarrivedataravinewhichlayontheoutskirtsofChaldon，avillagetwomilesontheirwaytowardsthepointoftheshoretheysought。Lizzybrokethesilencethistime:’Ihavetowaitheretomeetthecarriers。Idon’tknowiftheyhavecomeyet。AsItoldyou，wegotoLulsteadCoveto-night，anditistwomilesfurtherthanRingsworth。’
　　Itturnedoutthatthemenhadalreadycome；forwhileshespoketwoorthreedozenheadsbrokethelineoftheslope，andacompanyofthematoncedescendedfromthebusheswheretheyhadbeenlyinginwait。ThesecarriersweremenwhomLizzyandotherproprietorsregularlyemployedtobringthetubsfromtheboattoahiding-placeinland。TheywereallyoungfellowsofNether-Moynton，Chaldon，andtheneighbourhood，quietandinoffensivepersons，whosimplyengagedtocarrythecargoforLizzyandhercousinOwlett，astheywouldhaveengagedinanyotherlabourforwhichtheywerefairlywellpaid。
　　Atawordfromhertheyclosedintogether。’Youhadbettertakeitnow，’shesaidtothem；andhandedtoeachapacket。Itcontainedsixshillings，theirremunerationforthenight’sundertaking，whichwaspaidbeforehandwithoutreferencetosuccessorfailure；but，besidesthis，theyhadtheprivilegeofsellingasagentswhentherunwassuccessfullymade。Assoonasitwasdone，shesaidtothem，’TheplaceistheoldonenearLulsteadCove；’thementillthatmomentnothavingbeentoldwhithertheywerebound，forobviousreasons。’Owlettwillmeetyouthere，’addedLizzy。’I
　　shallfollowbehind，toseethatwearenotwatched。’